


Broken Trust

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, little angst, set before 16x24, small barely there sex scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 17:15:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18997024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: A plan causes trust to be broken.A sob left the woman's lips, her body shaking except for her hands that were steady, the hands that held the gun pointed directly at him. "Shut up."





	Broken Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this as a way to unstress myself after that Good Girls finale 😬 
> 
> It might be a bit of a mess and for that I'm sorry but if you have any questions, ask away!

Tension, fear, panic, and the sound of crying filled the air.   
  
Two people stood in an abandoned warehouse, a distance away as they stood across from each other. A man and a woman.   
  
"Please." He begged, breathing shaky as he held his hands up in a non-threatening gesture. His eyes wet with tears that had yet to fall.   
  
A sob left the woman's lips, her body shaking except for her hands that were steady, the hands that held the gun pointed directly at him. "Shut up."  
  
He took a hesitant step forward. "Ellie..please."  
  
"Shut up!" Ellie sobbed again, her voice raising.   
  
"Ellie." He said again, more firmly this time.   
  
Panic flashed in her eyes as he took another step.  
  
"Stay where you are." Ellie's voice shook.   
  
Another step forward. "You don't have to do this."  
  
"How can I trust anything you say?!" She shouted.   
  
"You trusted me with your life once." He said softly.  
  
"That was a mistake..trusting you was a mistake." More tears slid down her cheeks. "I wish I had never met you."  
  
His eyes flashed with anger, and he came at her.   
  
Ellie's finger pulled the trigger.  
  
A heartbreaking sob rang through the warehouse as he fell with a choked off gasp. Blood spread along his shirt, soaking it in red before seeping out onto the dirty floor.   
  
"Oh god..oh god.." She whispered to herself, her hands now shaking along with the rest of her body as she turned and ran.   
  
A pained groan left the man on the floor, his hands trying to put pressure on the gunshot wound.  
  
Finally the tears fell.   
  
Nick let his eyes close.  
  


* * *

  
  
She felt numb except for the pain in her chest. In her heart.   
  
Ellie sat on the old beat up couch in a run down motel room, her hands shook as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.  
  
"It had to be done."   
  
She closed her eyes for a second before responding. "And what kind of person does this make me now? How-" She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. "How am I supposed to live with myself?"   
  
"Ellie." It was spoken so softly that she finally lifted her head. Ziva crouched down in front of her, hands resting gently on Ellie's knees. "You did what you had to do. Right now you focus on the mission, and when that is done-" She squeezed her knees. "You learn how to move on."  
  
"And if I can't?"   
  
Ziva smiled sadly. "You drown."  
  
Ellie let out a shaky breath watching as Ziva got up, finishing the packing of their things.   
  
"Get some sleep." Ziva said, gesturing towards the bed. "I will keep watch."  
  
She almost scoffed out loud at the idea of sleeping. Ellie didn't think she'd ever have a peaceful sleep ever again.  
  
"Try." Ziva said as she moved towards the window by the door. "You need all the rest you can get."  
  
Crawling onto the bed, she shut her eyes.  
  
All she could see was the image of Nick dropping to the floor, his eyes wide with shock. When she finally did drift off, her dreams were filled with either memories that made her wake up crying and mourning the past or nightmares of her shooting him played on repeat. Ziva had to shake her awake those times.   
  
"It will get easier." Ellie cried in Ziva's hold as she ran her hands through her hair. "Some wounds never heal, but living with them gets easier. I promise." She whispered in the dark.  
  
Ziva's comfort did nothing to take away the gaping hole in her heart. 

 

* * *

  
  
  
"Still nothing?"   
  
Vance stood in front of the window behind his desk, staring blankly out of it.   
  
"No."   
  
He turned, Gibbs looked angry but drained. Vance wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't known the man so well.  
  
"She has to be somewhere." Vance said with a sigh as he moved to sit in his chair, running a hand down his face. His eyes moved to the picture of Jackie and the kids on his desk, his heart clenched like it always did when thinking of her. He could really use some of her wisdom and encouragement at that moment.   
  
"She's smart." Gibbs said, tone frustrated. "Too smart."  
  
"But you believe she has help."   
  
Gibbs nodded sharply. "No way she could have pulled this off by herself, she's good at covering her tracks but not this good."   
  
"The walls are closing in Gibbs." Vance said. Gibbs clenched his jaw. They were given a time limit to find Agent Bishop, but then it'd be in the hands of the FBI. "And we both know they won't see her as anything but the killer of an NCIS Agent."  
  
"Something isn't right."  
  
Vance nodded in agreement. "I agree."  
  
Not only was Agent Bishop not a murderer, but even he noticed the feelings between her and Agent Torres. Everyone had witnessed the decline to their friendship the month before, but none of team Gibbs himself included believed she wouldn't not only kill him, but also burn his body enough to where they could only identify him by his wallet and the engraved knife Kasie had managed to restore enough.   
  
If it wasn't for the video they found of her shooting him, they wouldn't have believed it at all. They had all been hopeful that it was edited, but multiple people had scanned it. Bishop really did shoot Torres.  
  
McGee had found the location, but when they arrived there was nothing but a pool of his blood. A week later his body was found by some hikers.   
  
Bishop was still in the wind, and they couldn't find the only two other people who could have given them insight into what had happened between the two younger agents.   
  


* * *

  
  
"Eleanor Bishop." A man greeted in a quiet voice as he sat across from her outside the café.   
  
Ellie wearing contacts and a brunette wig looked up from her book.   
  
The older man with graying hair grinned. "You're hard to find."   
  
"And yet you managed to find me." She snapped, slowly closing her book.   
  
He chuckled. "And where is Ziva on this fine evening?"  
  
Ellie smirked. "Where do you think?"  
  
His eyes glanced around at the rooftops with a chuckle before stopping on the exact building where Ziva was on top of, ready to take the shot if needed.   
  
"How can I help you Ivan?"  
  
Ivan tilted his head with a smile that sent chills down her spine.   
  
"I could use your skills, the combination of you and Ziva..could be unstoppable."  
  
Ellie leaned back in her chair with a chuckle of her own. "Then why would we need you?"  
  
Ivan clicked his tongue, sliding a folder towards her. "Because without me, you don't find them."  
  
She knew what the pictures contained, but it didn't stop the twisting in her stomach.  
  
Lucia, Amanda, Tony, Tali, and Mr. DiNozzo were all tied up with tape over their mouths.   
  
"Work with me..and you two will get them back. In fact..I think you owe it to Agent Torres to save his family, don't you?"   
  
Her eyes flashed at his mention of Nick. She wanted nothing more than to take out her gun and shoot him for even saying his name.   
  
He chuckled seeing her body tense. "I was hesitant on you working for me..but murdering the man you loved for his betrayal? That takes some balls."  
  
"You don't know anything." She snapped.  
  
Ivan leaned closer. "Oh? So you didn't find out about how it was Nick who contacted Chen to let him know about Qasim getting too close, who let him know exactly where he was that night? I'm not surprised he wasn't loyal to NCIS after all that undercover work, too many identities along with being surrounded by darkness and he was bound to crack..throw in jealousy and well.."  
  
"How do you know that?" Ellie spat out, her voice firm but emotional.   
  
"Chen may be dead-" His thanks to you unspoken. "-But his family and contacts are still very much alive. You did your research, I don't have to tell you my connection."  
  
Ellie clenched her jaw. Ivan and Chen..friends since they were young, both in the life of crime. Ivan joining Chen's family when he married one of Chen's cousin's, giving the bastard contacts in Russia where Ivan flew under the radar but was feared.   
  
"You and Ziva work for me...and they get to live."  
  
"How can I trust you'll let them go?"   
  
He stood and grabbed the folder, throwing down enough money to cover her coffee and bagel as he buttoned up his suit. "Easy, I'll let one go."  
  
Ellie waited until he disappeared around the corner before she got up herself, fingers reaching under the bills to grab the slip of paper underneath. She walked away and looked at the paper. An address was written on it with a time.  
  
She took her burn phone out of her pocket.  
  
"He bought it." Ellie said the second the other person picked up.  
  
"Just as we knew he would." Ziva said from the rooftop, lips pulled into a small smirk.   
  


* * *

  
  
Ivan kept his promise and let one of them go.  
  
Ellie kept her distance as Ziva held Tali and whispered to her. In the morning Tali would be sent back to safety while they finished this, but for now she wanted to give Ziva as much privacy as she could with her daughter.  
  
She took out her phone, besides Ziva's burn phone there was one other number. Ellie's fingers flew across the keyboard.  
  
 _How are you?_  
  
Ellie pressed send.  
  
 **I'm fine, stop worrying**  
  
 _Not likely. I visit my friend tomorrow_  
  
 **Sounds like fun**  
  
 _God I can hear your sarcasm from here_  
  
 **Good. How's Z?**  
  
 _Pequeño is here, she's good_  
  
 **I'm happy for her. You all set?**  
  
 _Yes, everything's ready_  
  
 **I miss you**   
  
_I miss you too_  
  
Ellie looked up from her phone at the sound of Tali's giggles. She smiled at the sound before looking back at her screen, her thumb tracing the _I miss you._   
  


* * *

  
  
"You should be resting."  
  
A scoff left his lips. "This is me resting."  
  
The man standing in the doorway chuckled, walking in the room to sit at the table across from him. "Cleaning your gun is resting?"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't expect a _lawyer_ to understand." He teased, setting his gun back down as he finished.   
  
Jake rolled his eyes, his lips lifting a little in a smile. "Have you ate or were you too busy doing this?"  
  
He grumbled. "I ate an hour ago, _mom_."   
  
"...So I shouldn't ask if you took your pain medicine and changed your bandages?"  
  
"Seriously Jake?!"  
  
Jake gave a sheepish look. "Just doing my job."  
  
"Your job was to be my _bodyguard_ when I was still stuck in bed, not baby me!"  
  
"Ellie told me to watch out for you-"  
  
"Ugh figures."  
  
"-And make sure you actually took care of yourself."  
  
"Come on man!"  
  
Jake stood and moved to the kitchen where the pain medication sat on the counter, hearing him being followed, he lifted up the bottle and gave it a shake with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't take one today."  
  
"How the hell can you tell from just shaking it." He grumbled once more, snatching the bottle out of Jake's hand to take one out. He made a 'see' gesture after swallowing it.   
  
"Good." Jake nodded. "I'll be in the living room finishing my paperwork, try not to trip over the rug."  
  
"Once Jake! I did it _once_!"  
  
Laughter followed him as he left.   
  
Nick sighed. If someone told him four months ago that he'd be hiding out in Ellie's ex-husbands house with said ex-husband, who he now also considered a friend..he would have laughed in their face. Nick didn't want to like the guy at first, but how could he not when Jake was risking everything to help them?  
  
He took out his burn phone and looked over the texts for what felt like the thousandth time, his thumb tracing over her _I miss you too._   
  
A lot of things were riding on this. Lucia and Amanda, Tony and Mr. DiNozzo, Ziva finally being able to live her life, Ellie's freedom, along with his own if it came out he was alive and also a supposed traitor before this was finished.   
  
Nick sighed and turned to go into the living room. Maybe he could get Jake to play another game of poker, he refused to play scrabble with the other man ever again.   
  


* * *

  
  
Tension in Gibbs' house was thick as they stared at the information in front of them.   
  
"Do we really believe any of this?" McGee asked, eyeing Gibbs and Vance.   
  
Both men had their jaws clenched. Things just kept getting worse.  
  
They had proof in front of them for the reason Bishop shot Torres. He had been the one to inform Chen about Qasim's help, and that he may uncover information, and finally Qasim's location on the day he got shot. Evidence in front of them that Nick was the reason Qasim was dead.  
  
Gibbs sighed a tired sigh, McGee slumped in his seat, and Vance stared blankly at the papers spread along the table.  
  
None of them knew what to believe anymore. 

 

* * *

  
  
  
Ellie and Ziva learned quickly that with every job they did, one of them would be released. Amanda and Mr. DiNozzo had been freed, both being sent to where Tali had been and both with instructions to stay put and quiet until it was over. They were okay except for some bumps and bruises.   
  
Only Lucia and Tony were left..and then they could end it for real. Ivan who had been keeping Ziva from being with her family wouldn't be a problem anymore.

 

* * *

  
  
It was a month later and their last job that would release Tony, was coming to an end.   
  
Ellie and Ziva ran into an alley, diving into the van that was parked in it. Right away it sped off in the opposite direction of where the cops and the bank they just came from were.   
  
They ripped off their masks, tossing the bags of cash into the hidden compartment in the van.  
  
"Good work." Ivan said from the passenger seat with a smirk. "You two have been a real asset."   
  
Back at the connected warehouses that were turned into Ivan's empire, they waited until they had evidence of Tony being released before they acted.   
  
Ziva discreetly slipped out her phone and pressed one button.   
  
In seconds the warehouse became flooded with former Mossad Ziva still counted as friends and trusted, and CIA agents. A shootout started in seconds, Ellie and Ziva dived for cover.   
  
It didn't take long for someone to join them.  
  
"Long time no see."   
  
Ellie wanted to sob in relief at seeing him. She knew he was alive, but seeing it was completely different.   
  
"Nick.." She breathed out, grin on her face.   
  
"Nick." Ziva said in a scolding tone. "You should not be here."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "And miss all the action? Not a chance Z!"   
  
"Children, I swear." Ziva muttered under her breath. "Well then, since you want to be stubborn, shall we?"   
  
Nick and Ellie exchanged relieved smiles. It would all be over.   
  
"Let's go."  
  
All three entered the fight, watching each others backs as they went.   
  
An hour later they stood side by side, Ellie gripping Nick's hand as they watched Ivan be stuffed into one of the CIA's cars. The agent who shoved him in turned to look at them, giving them a nod.   
  
Boyd glanced at their clasped hands and shook his head with a laugh making Ellie narrow her eyes. Nick rolled his own, he had heard enough of Boyd's teasing when they were planning this. Apparently Ellie had talked about him a bit _too_ much during her few dates with Boyd.   
  
He gave them one last nod before getting into the car, driving Ivan to CIA headquarters.   
  
"Ziva." Ellie said, catching the attention of Ziva who was having her own silent exchange with one of her Mossad friends. "Look."   
  
Ellie pointed to the car that had just arrived.   
  
A breath left Ziva, one that showed she was close to tears as two people stepped out. She took off running. In seconds she had her arms wrapped around the two. Tony gripped her tightly, face buried in her hair. Tali had her small arms wrapped around both her parents, her giggle sounding like bells.   
  
Nick wrapped Ellie in his own arms. She leaned into him, closing her eyes as she breathed him in.   
  


* * *

  
  
There were a lot of things to clear up and go through including the lashing they'd get from Vance, Gibbs, and everyone else. It would take time for things to be semi normal again, but it was worth it in the end, they just had to make sure to tell themselves that every day.   
  
They didn't go back to either of their apartments after coming back from the Navy Yard, they gave a brief explanation before Vance let them go get some rest. Both their apartments had been searched in the time they were gone and needed cleaning up, which neither of them had the energy to do yet.   
  
And so Nick got a hotel room for them.   
  
"Let me see." Ellie demanded the second they got through the door and put their stuff down.  
  
"Ellie-"  
  
"Nick." She said sternly. "Let me see."  
  
"You don't wanna do that just yet." He said softly.   
  
"I need to-" She breathed out feeling nauseous. "I need to see it."   
  
He sighed. taking off his shirt with a slight wince, it was no longer an open wound but was still sensitive to certain movement and his running into a gun fight didn't help.   
  
Ellie took a sharp intake of breath, her eyes watering as she shakily reached out to touch.   
  
"You had to Ellie." Nick said. "It was the only way you could get Ivan's approval."   
  
"I shot you." She whimpered. "You could have bled out-"   
  
He grabbed her hands, pulling her to him. She crashed against his chest. He wiped away her tears before placing a soft kiss on her lips.   
  
"But I didn't." He took one of her hands and placed it over his heart. "I'm still here Ellie, and to me you're still my big hearted Bishop no matter what you did."   
  
She laughed wetly at the nickname. "I love you."  
  
Nick grinned. "I love you too."  
  
"We should get some sleep."  
  
Ellie flinched at his words. Nick frowned, realization on his face. "Nightmares?"  
  
She bit her lip and nodded.   
  
"Okay." He let out a breath of air. "First, we should shower."  
  
There was no touching beyond comfort in the shower like usual when they shared. When they got into the bed, Nick in his boxers and Ellie just in his t-shirt, he pulled her into his arms.   
  
Ellie laid her head on his chest, ear right above his heart. His warmth, his arms around her, and the beating of his heart all kept the nightmares away and for the first time since, she slept for five hours.   
  
She woke up with a start.   
  
Nick blinked his eyes open feeling her sudden movement.  
  
"Ellie?" He said sleepily, voice rough from just waking up.   
  
Ellie didn't say a word as she lifted herself, throwing her leg over him. Straddling him, she watched as his eyes widened, sleep gone from his eyes.   
  
"I need you." She mumbled, leaning down to kiss him.   
  
Nick groaned against her lips as she shifted her hips to rub against him. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes." _God yes_. She _needed_ him, needed to really feel him, to know for sure he was here.   
  
Ellie in her desperate craving need wasted no time in freeing him from his boxers.  
  
"Ellie wai-" He cut himself off with a curse as she sunk down on him, gritting his teeth at how tight she was. Ellie had to breathe out, it always took a bit of adjusting when they had sex but it had been a while.  
  
"What about a condom?" He asked, finishing what he was about to say before.   
  
She shook her head. "I need to feel you Nick."  
  
"Fuc-" He groaned loudly as she started moving, his hands flying to her hips, his fingers digging into her skin.   
  
Ellie put her hands on his chest for leverage, making sure to steer clear of where she shot him. Her eyes fluttered as she felt him. It was the first time they hadn't used a condom. In the back of her mind, the _smart_ part of her brain scolded her for being careless but right now she couldn't give a damn.  
  
It was so much better, which she didn't think was possible.   
  
But one thing was for sure, there was nothing more beautiful to her then watching Nick fall apart under her, his eyes full of love and lust for her as he said her name. 

 

* * *

  
  
A month later they took a trip to the beach, a house right by it that Nick had bought sometime when he wanted something that felt a little like home back on Florida.   
  
Ellie leaned against his chest from between his legs from where they sat on a blanket, the umbrella above them protecting them from the direct sun rays. Both of them watched their little group with smiles. All of them knew Nick and Ellie needed a break and some space from the still tense atmosphere at work, and so they had suggested a trip that had quickly turned into a group one.   
  
Ziva, Tali, Tony, and Amanda were in the water while Jake, Lucia, and Boyd were on their own towels beside them deep in a conversation. Nick and Ellie had blocked it out a while ago.   
  
Sometimes when Ellie would see Nick's scar, she'd wonder it was all worth it. Until she thought and or saw how happy Ziva was. It all started with wanting to help Ziva, who couldn't be with her family for fear of them being hurt as Ivan loomed over her, a man who had collected people to work for him as if they were trophies and could be dangerous if he didn't get them. Tony and Ziva had deserved a happy ending like her and Nick, and Tali had deserved to grow up with both her parents.   
  
Ellie smiled as she felt Nick press a kiss to the side of her head.   
  
"Uncle Nick, Aunt Ellie!" Amanda called from the water making their heads snap up. Grins formed on their lips as they registered her calling Ellie her aunt. "Come in the water!"  
  
"How about you all get off your butts and come in!" Tony shouted.   
  
Ellie stood after untangling Nick's arms that were around her. "He's right, we should all go in."   
  
Nick groaned but stood. "Fine, but only for a little while."  
  
"I don't really like the wa-" Jake cut off with a yelp as Lucia stood and yanked him up.   
  
"Don't be a wuss Jake, it's just water."   
  
Boyd snickered standing up. "Well, I say we go dunk Tony under."   
  
Lucia's eyes lit up. "Payback for putting itching powder on our clothes!"  
  
"Wait, that was Tony?!" Jake shouted, running after the two who were already walking to the water.  
  
Nick put his hand over his mouth, covering his laugh. Ellie bit her lip hard to keep her own laughter in.   
  
"Think they'll figure out it was you and not Tony?" Ellie mumbled to him with a grin as they started walking.  
  
Nick scoffed with a laugh. "No, Tony's pulled enough pranks that even when he denies it they don't believe him."  
  
Ellie chuckled. "True."  
  
It didn't take long for a splash war to start when they got in, Nick shouting about his hair getting ruined by the saltwater in no time.   
  
Any feelings about work and the trust that was broken by their plan, was left behind on the beach as the odd newly formed family played like children in the water.   
  



End file.
